Every few days, I post musings, ideas, quotes, and mini-essays on writing, painting, and the creative process. I'm a professional freelance editor, pastellist, and novelist. I believe in supporting the creativity of all of us.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Moving into the next project

Since April 15, when I wrote the 100th poem in my self-imposed challenge, I haven't done any creative writing at all. It's 2-1/2 weeks and that's a long stretch for me. One of my reasons for having Writing Fridays is to make sure each week something gets written, so I stay in practice and momentum. But on April 22, I did some administrative work around my books and last week I was in Minnesota preparing to give a speech, and I've had lots of work and on and on. The truth is, I just haven't carved out the time to write a fictional prompt or another poem or to sit down to my novel, which is patiently waiting.

I do see the need for a bit of fallow time after one project's over and so I'm not feeling guilty but I also know that I need to get back at it as I'm definitely losing momentum and the habit of writing daily. It's also easy for me to relapse into workaholism where my clients' needs are more important than my own. And I guess I have some fear that my creativity will slip away from me if I don't keep my hand in.

So I am moving on to the next project, which is to complete the second draft of my novel by August 1. I am also going to begin writing a fictional prompt 10 minutes a day and complete 100 of these by Labor Day. That seems a good goal, especially as both of my novels have gotten their start in those kinds of prompts.

Looking forward to balancing back into my creative priority this next week.

2 comments:

Yes, you've hit a good core truth here -- how easy it is to let other things overtake your time being creative for yourself. I like how you put it, that you just want to keep your hand in it. Nothing dramatic, just a consistency that will keep that particular aspect functioning.

p.s. I don't know if this will help, but I find myself using it more and more these days, as I determine what matters to me -- "put on your own oxygen mask first." For you, I'd say that involved regular creative time!